I live in the GTA so UTSC is only a 30 min bus ride away and my parents expect me to go there and study from home. I actually did my coop there in grade 11 and continue to volunteer there in a research lab. I definitely know I'm not going into research but the people there are awesome and I'm thankful for the experience. I've asked my supervisors and they say that UTSC has a limited amount of courses which is a problem since I'm not sure of what to do. The campus is pretty depressing. I also heard that UofT students have a harder time getting a higher GPA, but opinions vary.

Some of my general interests are in healthcare, business, history, and media, but I'm sure that will change once I'm actually in university. I'm kind of iffy about missing the whole staying in residence experience as well if I go to UTSC.

What universities have a variety of programs that are reputable but also have a good social scene? I come from a low-income family so scholarships are important. My grades hover around low 90s to high 80s.

I really want those four years to be enjoyable


I was looking into Western, Laurier, Queens, and York. (Laurier and York are a hour and a half commute but I don't think OSAP will increase my living expenses since I live within 40 km. That's going to be a pain).

I know this is a difficult question but I'll be thankful for any advice.

Whoops, got it mixed up with one of their offices or something. Thanks for that.

LOL you are just like me! Same interests and grades. If you like healthcare and business, why don't you do Health Management or Health Policy at York? It's a combination of Health/Business or Health/Law :)

I just wonder what everyone else is doing. Sounds interesting, but it's such a long commute for me! I don't know if it's worth it :/

Thanks! May I ask what marks and ECs you had? I don't know if I even can get in.

Knowing full well that everyone hates the person who says this, I'm just going to put it out there: why don't you take a gap year? If finances are an issue for you, its never a good idea to waste the money on school when you don't actually know what you're doing. If you take the year off, you can get some more work experience for money, and also take the time to figure out what you really want to do.

If you do decide to go for just a general first year, I've heard of people taking good general arts programs at Trent, Queens, and Laurier, which are all very nice schools. For a general first year program, I think your marks will absolutely be able to get you in.

I hope this helps!

My average for first term was slightly over 89% and it dropped about 3% into second term. If I remember correctly, I was admitted when OUAC only posted up my first term grades. Regardless, a mid to high 80s average should suffice for Arts. The Science cut-off may differ marginally (1-3% at most). As for ECs, I honestly didn't have any. Queen's requires you to write a short essay for your application and I only included stuff I did for community hours. I didn't join any teams or clubs in high school. If your marks are relatively high, ECs are not as important.

I feel a bit more confident now but I'm aiming for scholarships so I think it's important to have some ECs as well. I'm not sure if I should have more ECs and risk my grade dropping or just study hardcore and try for over 90.

As far as entrance scholarships are concerned, it's all about grades. Make sure your top 6 is 90%+ to be eligible. The good thing about Queen's is that they always use your Arts average to calculate a student's top 6 for entrance scholarships so if you bomb out on Calc or something, it won't hurt your financial aid. I'm sure there are other scholarships that will look at your ECs, but most of those require applications and/or essays.

Thanks for all the advice guys! I think I'll apply to all the universities I'm interested in and then make my decision from there. I've got some time at least.